TRIGGER WARNING!
This website contains poetry and true stories about trauma, personality disorders, suicidal thoughts, self-harming, depression and other significant mental health issues, as well as personal stories of emotional neglect and physical and sexual abuse, which some people might find disturbing.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Stay strong, have a great festive holidays and keep writing ... poetry !!!
Poetry for Mental Health
Supporting people with mental health challenges by motivating and inspiring them to write poetry.
"Poetry for Mental Health has supported thousands of people around the world through words and poetry!"
ROBIN BARRATT - Founder POETRY FOR MENTAL HEALTH
I formed
Poetry for Mental Health at the outbreak of COVID, as a way of helping people cope mentally through lockdown and the pandemic by inspiring them to write poetry. Five years, seven books, hundreds of poets, and thousands of pieces of poetry later,
Poetry for Mental Health
is still inspiring people to write poetry for positive mental health! And with around 1600 visitors each and every month, it
is now probably the largest and most visited website of its kind on the net!"
~
"No matter what your age, background and experience, culture or identity; whether an established writer with many published titles to your credit, or an aspiring poet who has never written a word of poetry in your life, our philosophy here is to embrace, welcome and support everyone, everywhere suffering from mental health challenges, and help you cope through words and poetry ... Get writing!"
NEW - This Week's Featured Poetry (x4)
Christmas week commencing Monday 22nd December, 2025
ANXIETY
By Syeda Khan
Heart racing, stone cold
I don't want a hand to hold
Thoughts racing back to back
I am now starting to crack
Body is shaking so fast
I don't know how long this will last
Throat is starting to close in on me
How can this possibly be?
No one understands me
I just want them all to let me be
I can't eat and sleep
All I just want to do is weep
I am trying to take a deep breath
But I still feel all out of breath
Why do I always worry so much?
It shouldn't have to be this much
I tell myself to calm down
And not to put myself down
It will be alright I say
We will get through this okay?
ANXIETY
By Jackie Chou
You make me flinch
in all my senses
Your voice
squeaks and squeals
like a creaking old door
You crawl on my skin
like a procession
of wet worms
I tiptoe around you
as if you were a trail
of brittle snails
When I try to shrug you off
you attack me tenfold
like an insect outbreak
I cover my ears
like the figure
in The Scream painting
My heart is racing
my knees are shaking
my lips are trembling
Still you would not
go away
and let me be
PETITION
By Jennifer Alukonis
Wounds by words embedded in my soul often resurface and grow.
Humble me, Lord, and heal these wounds.
Penetrate my soul with an outpouring of your kind words that echo whole.
Take control
ABOUT JENNIFER: Jennifer writes under the pen name, JLA Poetry. Jen has PTSD, PNES, and Epilepsy. Writing helps her confront her emotions and manage her conditions.
VOICES
By Grace Kenney
I wish
I hope
Voices scream my name
I scream His in vain
They tell me
I am nothing
I am worthless
How can I belong
To a world full of
Judgement?
I wish
I hope
They poke at my skin
They laugh at my skull
I am punished for all
I have done.
I am beaten
I am bruised
I go to battle
Each morning
I look in the mirror
I wish
I hope
For the silence
To ring in my ears
But yet I hear
Their
Laughter
They hear my cries
In agony
Why won’t they die?
I hope
I wish
But I will not pray
For He gave me
This brain
Why?
Must I wish
And hope
To feel
Normal
Again
Why must I
Endure this pain?
Why?
I wish…
I hope…
I pray.
Lots more Featured Poetry ...
On the themes of mental health, from hundreds of poets around the world.
"Why is poetry so very good for people with mental health challenges? Because it helps them see the world in their own way, and in a way that makes sense to them ..."
Robin Barratt
Our Books
GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS!
Treat yourself, or someone close, to a copy of one of our acclaimed books this Christmas. They make inspirational gifts, all are five star rated at Amazon, and all profits from sales go back into promoting and publishing poetry for mental health. Click on the link below for further details, contents list, and to order a copy from Amazon websites worldwide. Thank you!
"People can benefit from writing poetry because it can take the images and the talk in your head and transfer it to paper. It’s like getting the words out
of your head so that they don’t linger there."
Nadine Dunseith
Personal Journeys
In their own words, writers and poets write about their own personal journey with mental health.
Interviews
Nine amazing writers and poets about their journey with mental health.
Featured Poets
Featuring almost 80 poets around the world, with up to six pieces of their work, and a little about the author and the stories behind their work.
NEW - Featured Books
Promoting books and publications on the themes of mental health.
Articles
Articles about poetry and positive mental health.
Contribute to Poetry for Mental Health
Would you like to showcase your poetry for mental health here on this website, and/or on our Facebook page? Then consider contributing ...
Publishing Services
We publish books for other people too!!!
Would you like to see your poetry collection published as a paperback and Kindle, and available for other people to read around the world? Prices start from just £150.00 for a chapbook / short collection. Click on the link for more info. Plus Promoting Your Book - information and advice for promoting and marketing your book.
Newsletters ...
NEW - Newsletters ONLINE
What's new at Poetry for Mental Health. Our monthly newsletters are now available to read online.
Send us your name and email address and we'll keep you updated with our news and calls for submissions. We'll never send you more than one email a month, or pass your details onto anyone else ... ever!
Other ...
Directory of Support Services
Charities, groups and organisations worldwide offering mental health help and support to people in crisis.
Mental Health First Aid
Identifying warning signs of common mental health crisis, and how to guide a person towards safety and appropriate help. More info ...
“No matter how bad something may seem at that moment in time when you feel all is lost, it can get better if you can only give it more time."
Lynda Tavakoli
Please donate. ALL donations go towards promoting and publishing poetry for mental health. Click on the button below for donation options or contact us to sponsor this platform. Thank you!
NOTE ON CONTRIBUTIONS: We publish mental health poetry from around the world, and for a number contributors to this website, English is not their first language. Unlike some other platforms, we don't heavily edit a poet's own work (if we did, it would then not be their own work!), so please focus on a poet's messages and meanings, and not necessarily on any grammatical mistakes or translated imperfections that may arise within their contribution.
